Goblin

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Goblins are one of the few denizens of the Beneath that are smart enough to match wits with the intruders from above and below. They're cunning, wily, and even speak a vague approximation of the aboveground language. Their society is a rudimentary, tribal culture that exists in pockets of the Beneath, usually at the lower and safer levels of dungeons.

Goblins that have occasional contact with humans have assimilated the more materialistic values of the abovegrounders. Sometimes they dabble in making small wooden ornaments with varying degrees of skill. This, however, grates the soul, and often they'll just give up and mug passers-by instead. Those rare goblins who are fully integrated into human society, having learned not to attack people and get attacked themselves, usually take menial jobs. Thankfully, they enjoy the simplicity and directness of the work as opposed to the politicking and bickering that accompanies the more cerebral endeavors that humans undertake, and for the most part they are treated kindly.

Isolated groups of goblins usually work quite differently. While straightforward and sometimes brutal, these societies can be surprisingly advanced with complex belief systems. These unique cultures are typically eroded by first contact with humans.

Goblins calculate distance to the player using the Pythagorean Theorem. They assign a score to each of the eight adjacent squares that it can enter and to its current position. The highest score goes to a square that contains the player and the lowest to any other square that is adjacent to the sword. Other squares are assigned a score in terms of their distance from the player, with closer squares receiving higher numbers. The goblin then picks the highest score of the nine possibilities. If there is a tie in the best scores, the goblin will use the preference order of: NW, N, NE, W, its own square, E, SW, S, SE.

Brained goblins move the same way that non-brained goblins do, except that they calculate distance differently. If there is no visible path to the player or the square is within two squares from the player according to the brain, then distance is calculated as normal. Otherwise, distance is calculated in terms of brained distance, with a preference toward orthogonal moves.